A few winks more and January will now end. Most people at this point in time already gave up on their new year’s resolutions. According to Dr. Joe, an in-demand speaker and author, 80 percent of enthusiastic “resolutions-ers” that fill up gyms and yoga studios at the start of the year already failed with their resolutions by the second week of February.
If you are one of those who are disappointed because you already broke your new year’s resolution, don’t be in despair. Experts say that it takes 18 to 254 days for an individual to develop a new habit. Give yourself some grace because kicking a bad habit or forming a new good one is a tough challenge.
Let me share with you a couple of ideas on how you might be able to achieve your goal of keeping your new year’s resolution.
1. Know your why.
Doing something just because it’s your new year’s resolution does not make sense. You’re bound to be disappointed if you take this route. Know your motivation behind it. Why do you want to do it? But, don’t just stop there. Ask yourself the why behind your why and keep asking until your why tugs at your heartstrings.
For example, one of my new year’s resolution this year is to develop a regular exercise routine. I asked myself, why do I want that? It’s not because I want to wear bombshell sportswear for women when I exercise. My answer was I want to become healthy. Nevertheless, just like what I’ve said, let’s not stop there.
Let’s dig deeper. Why do I want to become healthy?
If you’re like me, a mother with young children, you’ll probably say that it’s because you want to become healthy because you don’t want your kids to have a sick mother or lose their mother at a young age due to health problems. Why? Because you love your kids! I definitely love mine! Looking at them right now and thinking of what happens to them if I don’t start my exercise routine that will make me healthier brings tears to my eyes.
Knowing your why will motivate you to keep pushing. Now, whenever I want to skip the treadmill so that I can sit down and browse my social media feeds, I remember why I need to exercise – and automatically choose the better use of my time.
2. Be SMART.
Remember to be SMART whenever setting your new year’s resolutions. SMART here means Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-based.
Here’s an infographic that shows bite-sized info on the SMART approach.
For example, my new year’s resolution this year is to develop a regular exercise routine. Let me refine it a bit by applying the SMART approach.
My new year’s resolution this 2022 is to use the treadmill at least 30 minutes a day, 5x a week.
It is specific for I know what type of exercise I need to do, measurable since I will know if I was able to hit my goal during the week, achievable because it is a realistic goal given my schedule, relevant because exercising aligns with my aim to become healthier and lastly, time-based as this goal is for this year 2022.
Conclusion
Knowing your why and applying the SMART approach in setting your new year’s resolution will help you keep your new year’s resolution. If you fail to keep it, give yourself grace. Pick yourself up. Dust yourself off. Get back on the horse. Why? Because of your WHY.
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